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YOU Can Make a Difference; Read How in This eNewsletter!
► Ends Dec 31st; Double Your Impact with our $25,000 Matching Challenge !
► Join the Jan 14 Webinar. Code Red for Humanity: What Municipalities Can Do.
► Take Action to Increase Housing along San Jose Infrastructure and Commercial Districts.
► Protect Our Oceans from Polluting Factory Fish Farms.
► Protect San Francisco Bay; get involved with our Bay Alive Campaign.
► Milpitas: call for progressive climate action by taking the City's climate action survey.
► Progress in Preserving Coyote Valley and What You Can Do.
► Take a hike! Here's what's available with your chapter.
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Double Your Impact. The $25,000 Matching Challenge Ends Dec 31st!
Only eight days remain for you to take part in our year-end $25,000 dollar-for-dollar matching challenge. One hundred percent of your gift made directly to the Chapter will be spent locally, so please don’t miss this opportunity to make your impact go twice as far for our local environment. You can donate online at https://www.sierraclub.org/loma-prieta/25000-challenge-match. |
Join the Jan 14 Webinar. Code Red for Humanity: What Municipalities Can Do.
Climate science has signaled a code red for humanity. But what can municipalities do to fight against climate change? Learn from experts and leaders on climate change and local policy who will address the implications of August’s “Code Red” warning from the IPCC, and how cities are emerging as our strongest hope for action. This is a valuable event for local elected officials, municipal staff and all members of the public interested in working toward effective responses to the climate crisis.
Register online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/code-red-for-humanity-what-municipalities-can-do-tickets-224359825277?aff=sierra.
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Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter agrees that San Jose and other cities should significantly increase housing along transit infrastructure and commercial districts in order to reduce climate change and accommodate retreat from environmentally impacted areas.
We share these quotes from San Jose City Councilmember Matt Mahan:
Our transportation plan is focused, prioritizing investments in areas with the greatest potential for reducing car use. Our housing plan should do the same.
Until transit infrastructure and service levels catch up, we should not densify neighborhoods on the edges of our city — for the sake of our air quality, health, and the fight against climate change.
If you would like to join the Loma Prieta Chapter in this important work, contact our Chapter Conservation Chair, Gladwyn D'Souza at godsouza@me.com. |
Protect Our Oceans from Polluting Factory Fish Farms.
Tell your senators to vote NO on the AQUAA Act and save our ocean ecosystems and fishing industry.
The AQUAA Act (Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture), now introduced in the Senate, aims to streamline permits for monster fish farms in America’s publicly owned oceans.
This grossly polluting, billion-dollar industry must not be allowed to gain a foothold in America's federal oceans.
Take action and read more online at https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/protect-our-oceans-from-floating-fish-cafos.
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Take Action. Learn how you can become involved with the Bay Alive Campaign.
The San Francisco Bay is a vital asset we all share. Through the Bay Alive Campaign, we’re cooperating across three Sierra Club Chapters that surround the Bay and building lasting relationships with community based organizations.
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Visit the new Bay Alive website to learn more about our education and training programs and local campaigns.
Connect to the cause by subscribing to the Loma Prieta Chapter’s Bay Alive campaign updates. We’ll update you (but not too often!) about what’s happening in the campaign. |
Santa Clara County Has Gone All-Electric
On December 7th, Santa Clara County adopted a local ordinance that require new buildings to be all-electric. The County joined the more than 25 jurisdictions in our Loma Prieta Chapter that have said no to putting fossil fuel pipelines in new buildings. New buildings in Unincorporated Santa Clara County will use clean electricity from Silicon Valley Clean Energy in addition to being healthier for residents.
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Morgan Hill Has Adopted a Climate Action Plan
On December 15th, the City of Morgan Hill adopted a Climate Action Plan which focuses on the two largest sources of emissions in the City: transportation and buildings. Congratulations to the Morgan Hill Youth Climate Action Team, who advocated for the creation of this Plan and also participated in the Community Working Group that helped write the plan itself. The Loma Prieta Chapter is proud to have supported these young activists in their efforts to transition Morgan Hill from fossil fuels. |
Santa Clara County Office of Education Has Adopted an Environmental Literacy Resolution
On December 15th, the Santa Clara County Board of Education adopted a resolution in support of environmental literacy, sustainability education, and climate action. This resolution affirms the Board of Education's commitment to pursue these education initiatives in partnership with the County Board of Supervisors and Office of Sustainability. You can read our joint-letter in support of this resolution here. Thank you to Trustee Tara Sreekrishnan for bringing this resolution forward. |
San Jose Has Voted to Protect Coyote Valley from Industrial Destruction
On November 16th, the San Jose City Council voted unanimously to re-designate land in North Coyote Valley, originally designated as industrial land, to open space, parklands, habitat, and agriculture. This move protects Coyote Valley from the threat of future industrial development, and comes after decades of advocacy by Loma Prieta Chapter volunteers and other environmental groups. However, this decision could be reversed by a future Council, so we must stay vigilant in protecting this vital habitat.
If you would like to join the Loma Prieta Chapter's critical work protecting Coyote Valley, contact our Chapter Conservation Assistant, Dashiell Leeds at Dashiell.Leeds@sierraclub.org. |
San Jose Has Become the Largest City in the Nation to Adopt a Carbon Neutral by 2030 Target. “This target may be called aggressive by some but we would call it necessary. The resolution before you today is actually the normal, expected behavior in response to a climate crisis of this urgency and magnitude.”- Dashiell Leeds, Conservation Assistant, Loma Prieta Chapter Read more We will continue to encourage and support San Jose to take strong action to protect ecosystems and reduce emissions. To achieve this 2030 goal, San Jose will update its Climate Smart Plan to include stronger fossil fuel reduction measures.San Jose Council Has Voted to Become Carbon Neutral by 2030"The creation, passage, and funding of this plan will be critical to ensuring that San Jose’s approach to making buildings carbon neutral is thoughtful and equitable.To reach the goal, San Jose will need to tackle fuel use in industry as well as buildings and transportation; the use of grid-supplied energy; treatment of waste generated within the city boundaries; and the deployment more zero-emission technologies, such as heat pumps for heating and cooling, and electric vehicles." |
14 Green Gifts for Kids. Sierra's Holiday Gift Guide for the Junior Set.
We’ve been scouring toy stores, game outlets, booksellers, and the internet for unique gifts designed to provide kids with some old-fashioned (i.e., screen-free) fun while challenging developing minds. Check out 14 of the most Earth-conscious—and awesome—gifts we could find for green-minded kids of all ages, from Sierra Magazine.
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7 Hacks for a Very Vegan Holiday Feast.
"If this is your first vegan holiday season, waste no time wallowing in meat nostalgia. Prepackaged tofurkey may disappoint, but mouthfuls of joy await in the form of other scrumptious eats. Here are some tips."
If you'd like to contribute to your chapter's work on this issue, contact Food Committee Chair Gladwyn d'Souza at conservation@lomaprieta.sierraclub.org |
The Loma Prieta Chapter's Climate Action Leadership Team was contacted by South San Francisco Council member James Coleman. The result was that a developer opposed to going all electric, worked with Peninsula Clean Energy and was converted to developing 480 units, including 60 Below Market Rate units, all 100% electric. |
California Bill Takes Aim at Scourge of Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers.
Read more online in Sierra Magazine.
Operating a commercial leaf blower for just one hour emits smog-forming pollution comparable to driving a new passenger car about 1,100 miles, roughly the distance from Los Angeles to Denver, more than 15 hours of driving. That fact comes from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which in 2015 initiated research that supported the passage in October of A.B. 1346, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman, whose district ranges from Palo Alto to Half Moon Bay. |
YOU Can Make a Difference for Local Environmental Protection!
Our Environmental Legislative Action Team and Climate Action Leadership Team will show you how.
Your Loma Prieta Chapter is organizing a network of advocacy teams at the city level.
These are city-focused teams with the twin goals of spearheading actions to combat climate change and to conserve and restore natural habitats.
You will be working with city council members, key city staff, county officials, and other environmental activists. We welcome and educate those who are new to climate policy.
For more information contact Loma Prieta Chapter's Conservation Assistant dashiell.leeds@sierraclub.org. |
Give Thanks this Holiday Season
Donate a Vehicle to Support the Critical Local Environmental Work of Your Chapter.
It’s easy to give and the pick-up is free; just call 844-6-SIERRA or 844-674-3772 or give online at https://careasy.org/nonprofit/Sierra-Club-Foundation-Loma-Prieta-Chapter.
If you would like to donate a Mazda Miata, please contact your Chapter Director personally.
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Social Media Channels for the Loma Prieta Chapter
facebook: Chapter, 20s – 30s, Sierra Singles
Loma Prieta Chapter's YouTube; Twitter; Instagram; Spotify |
In Case You Missed It
Click Here to see previous volumes of our Chapter eNewsletter.
Shareholder group pressures U.S. banks to drop fossil fuels faster.
US financial sector ‘is the world’s fifth largest polluter’.
Opinion: Wall Street has a staggering problem with greenhouse-gas emissions.
Poor neighborhoods bear the brunt of extreme heat, ‘legacies of racist decision-making’.
Parks and green spaces are vital for neighborhoods, so why aren’t there more?
New Short Film Profiles Efforts to Save Newark Wetlands from Development.
How can local cities and residents use nature-based adaptations to sea level rise? Watch recordings of our recent webinar series with SF Bay experts and share with your local elected officials!
Photographers, if you’d like to share with us your high-resolution photos of local nature, with or without people, please contact our Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman, justyna.guterman@sierraclub.org
Too much Sierra Club email? You have control! See this simple tutorial. |
Photo above: 2018.05.19 Mei Shen led Loma Prieta Day Hikers, including Chapter Director, to Eagle Point, Yosemite Valley
One Day At A Time: A thru-hiker's journey on Appalachian Trail
Loma Prieta Chapter "super hiker" Mei Shen completed the entire >2100 mile Appalachian Trail.
Read about this incredible 2019 solo journey in her book, available on Amazon.com.
Mei's moto: Going to the mountains is going back home.
NOTE: the Appalachian Trial Conservancy will receive all royalties from the book sales. |
The birds have vanished down the sky.
Now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains.
~ Li Po |
James Eggers, Director
Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter |
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Thank you to our 2020 Guardians of Nature Benefit SponsorsBe a Sponsor of the 2021 Guardians of Nature Benefit. |
| The COVID-19 crisis has not passed and continues to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people and other communities of color. The pandemic has revealed how the communities hardest hit are often the same communities that suffer from high levels of pollution and poor access to healthcare. The fight for environmental justice cannot be separated from the fight for racial justice. |
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